Hey whats up everyone! I have a few spare minutes, and as Bill has so kindly put it, I have been "stalking" the forums a bit lately. It is just so hard to get in and out! I find myself going in for a quick post here, or there, and next thing you know, it is 3 am and I have to be up in a few hours to douse my breakfast with some of Bill's delicious hot sauce or Jamies powder. Not to be redundant (you can read the whole story in Jaimes log), but you should have seen the kid's face. He will NEVER question the power of some red powder in a little baggy again....
Things have been going well here, only been in country for a few weeks and I realized I was definitely wrong about one thing. I used to joke with my wife that I was semi-looking forward to deploying so I can actually get a full night of sleep.....after a few short weeks I am banging my head against the wall and wishing for 7 hours and 1 midninght baby crying for his passy wakeup! lol! I am not gonna lie, things have gotten MUUUUUCH better since the eras that the above vets have posted about. Even though I am in the middle of nowhere, I still seem to get a decent internet connection and enough midnight bandwith to face time with the wife and kid. It is worth every penny, and believe me, they are making a killing off of the service. I was pretty worried at first about leaving a 6 month old and him not remembering me when I get back, but I swear to you, every time my face is on the screen he just gravitates to it and doesn't stop laughing and talking. The only problem is that he speaks Latin, and I do not, so he could be cursing me for being away...oh well, I guess I need to invest in Rosetta Stone.
I have been spreading the pepper love here, and everyone already knows me as the pepper guy. The first time I walked into the chow hall and sat down with my plate, broke out a bottle of homemade sauce and doused my food, I can't seem to keep people away from it! It is like they gravitate to the "special sauce" and powder and before I knew it, there was sneezing and sweating everywhere! I have told just about everyone I met about this place and how awesome the people are, and they are amazed. I think my Captain is more excited about the pkgs than I am! He literally makes asks me 3 or 4 times a day to bring the sauce or powder to chow. I finally just gave him a bag and now he carries it in his jacket pocket and it goes on EVERYTHING. I even saw him sprinkling a little bit into his protein shake.
to each his own!
But anyways, not to end on a sad note, but if you have been following the news, one of our bases was attacked and we lost a few Marines. It kinda puts things into perspective and makes me greatful for every day I have and the people that are around to support us. I find that even those that disagree with the wars, and policy in general, still support the troops. The support is overwhelming and I thank God every day for it. It is funny how waiting for a simple bottle of hot sauce makes getting up each day an adventure.
Thanks again and Ill be back around shortly.
Matt
they really should have a :hotsaucecheers: emoticon!